研究生写作10 essaywriting 2

1、 研究生研究生南京工业大学外语学院南京工业大学外语学院 Unit 10 How to Write an Essay 2 Students use a variety of techniques to take notes when they are reading for an essay. Probably the least useful of these is the type done with a highlighting pen - where the student succeeds mainly in altering the color of certain sections

2、 of text. The better techniques are those where students attempt to record key ideas and information in their own words (full sentences or in note form). The main benefit of this approach is that it helps you to impose your own understanding on the texts you have read - something your lecturers will

3、 be looking for in your writing. Such an approach will also help you avoid the danger of plagiarism. Two students took notes on Text 3 for the divorce essay topic. These are reproduced below. You will notice that their approaches have been quite different. Question: Which set of notes do you think w

4、ould be the most useful? ( For your reference, test 3 is offered again.) Text 3As laws and procedures regulating divorce have altered, the divorce rate has tended to increase by leaps and bounds; with each new piece of legislation making divorce more readily available, the rate has risen rapidly for

5、 a time before leveling off. Today there is one divorce in Britain for every three marriages. (In the USA the rate is one in two.) Many people have suggested that the higher divorce rates reflect an underlying increase in marital instability; the problem with this argument is that we have no way of

6、knowing how many unstable or unhappy marriages existed before legislation made it possible to dissolve them in a public (and recordable) form. Some commentators have gone further, and argued that more permissive divorce laws in themselves cause marital breakdown. But we can certainly be sceptical of

7、 such a view, suggesting as it does that happily married couples can suddenly be persuaded to abandon their relationship, propelled by the attraction of a new divorce law. A more plausible explanation for rises in the divorce rate after the passage of a law is that unhappily married couples were for

8、 the first time given access to a legal solution to pre-existent marital problems; in other words, changes in divorce laws are less likely to cause martial breakdown than to provide new types of solution where breakdown has already occurred.Bilton, T., K. Bonnett and P. Jones (1987) Introductory Soc

9、iology, 2nd edition. London: Macmillan, p. 301. Student 1The divorce rate has gone up with each change in divorce laws. In Britain today, one third of marriages end in divorce (in the US it is one half). Some people think that divorce has increased because marriages are now more unstable. This is no

10、t the case. Other people think that new divorce laws are the cause of marital breakdown. This is also not the case. The best explanation is that new divorce laws have provided unhappily married couples with a legal solution to pre-existent marital problems. (Bilton et al. p.301) Student 2The authors

11、 of this text (Bilton et al. p.301 ) attempt to explain the relationship between changes in divorce laws and increases in rates of divorce. They begin by dismissing several explanations advanced by others - i) that increased divorce is the result of increased marital stability ii) that increased div

12、orce is directly caused by changes in divorce laws. As an alternative, they suggest that there has probably always been a degree of marital instability, and that changes in the law have probably provided unhappily married couples with a way out, one that they would not otherwise have had. The author

13、s therefore believe that more liberal divorce laws should be thought of not as a cause of marital breakdown but as a solution to it. Who has produced the most useful notes? Student 1? Student 2 ?Whilst this explanation seems reasonable enough, it is based only on a consideration of changes in the le

14、gal system. It seems a bit narrow. An interesting question that the text does not consider, is why divorce laws themselves have changed. Could this be the result of certain fundamental changes in society? What might these be? comment The two sets of notes cover similar content. The language of the s

15、econd set suggests, however, that Student 2 has been engaged in a good deal more thinking about this content than Student 1. In addition to recording what the authors of the text are saying (content), Student 2 has managed to give a sense of what the authors are doing in saying this ( purpose). You

16、will notice also that Student 2 has sought to evaluate what has been read. (Evaluating different expressions was a requirement of the essay topic.) Student 2 also raises questions that he feels have not been adequately covered in the text. Student 2The authors of this text (Bilton et al. p.301 ) att

17、empt to explain the relationship between changes in divorce laws and increases in rates of divorce. They begin by dismissing several explanations advanced by others - i) that increased divorce is the result of increased marital stability -ii) that increased divorce is directly caused by changes in d

18、ivorce laws. As an alternative, they suggest that there has probably always been a degree of marital instability, and that changes in the law have probably provided unhappily married couples with a way out, one that they would not otherwise have had. The authors therefore believe that more liberal d

19、ivorce laws should be thought of not as a cause of marital breakdown but as a solution to it. In summary, the following are all important activities in the practice of critical reading: thinking about an authors purpose evaluating the ideas in a text raising questions about the text Whilst this expl

20、anation seems reasonable enough, it is based only on a consideration of changes in the legal system. It seems a bit narrow. （ student 2s evaluation) An interesting question that the text does not consider, is why divorce laws themselves have changed. Could this be the result of certain fundamental c

21、hanges in society? What might these be? ( student2”s question） Students have very different approaches to drafting their essays. Some use a linear approach, starting at the introduction and writing sequentially through to the conclusion. Others prefer a more recursive approach where they work on one

22、 section for a time, move on to another part of the essay, and then return to the earlier section. We would not want to argue for any single approach. However there are several techniques worth employing. One is to have a fairly clear notion of the structure of the essay before you do too much draft

23、ing. (Have a look to see how the early provisional plan has been developed into a final elaborated plan.) You will find that the flow of words will come more easily if you know in advance how the different parts of the essay are likely to hang together. Another technique is to commit yourself to an

24、introduction as early as possible. In the introduction, you should be looking to outline to the reader i) the structure of the essay and ii) your main argument. Your draft introduction will provide an initial anchor for the rest of the piece, even if later you find that you need to modify it. Read t

25、he following two draft introductions. Which seems to be the more adequate?Divorce is increasingly a problem in society and sociologists have provided a number of different explanations for its happening. The first type of explanation can be characterized as a legal one. Bilton et al., (1987) who rep

26、resent this position, say that increased divorce is not necessarily due to families becoming more unstable, mainly because they suggest it is simply not possible to find this information out. Bilton et al. believe instead that increased divorce is related more to changesIntroduction 1in family law.

27、They do not think however, that new laws are the cause of divorce, but are a kind of solution for unhappily married couples who did not previously have a way of getting out of their marriage. It will be argued in this essay that a legalistic approach like this is not really adequate. Introduction 2O

28、ne major change that has occurred in the Western family is an increased incidence in divorce. This change is borne out clearly in census figures. For example thirty years ago in Australia only one marriage in ten ended in divorce; nowadays the figure is more than one in three (Australian Bureau of S

29、tatistics, 1996). An interesting issue is why this change has occurred - a question that has been considered by a number of sociologists. In this essay, I will seek to critically examine a number of sociological explanations for the divorce phenomenon and also consider the social policy implications

30、 that each explanation carries with it. It will be argued that the best explanations are to be found within a broad socio-economic framework. commentIntroduction 2 is clearly more introductory. Unlike Introduction 1, it provides some context for the essay as well as giving the reader a sense of: 1.

31、how the essay will unfold (structure) 2. what the argument will be. Introduction 1 is less adequate because it contains very little introductory material and fails to orient the reader to the topic. Most of it is taken up with detailed information which is very difficult to follow. Which sentence in

32、 introduction 2 outlines the essay structure?1One major change that has occurred in the Western family is an increased incidence in divorce. 2This change is borne out clearly in census figures. 3For example thirty years ago in Australia only one marriage in ten ended in divorce; nowadays the figure

33、is more than one in three (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996). 4An interesting issue is why this change has occurred - a question that has been considered by a number of sociologists. 5In this essay, I will seek to critically examine a number of sociological explanations for the divorce phenomen

34、on and also consider the social policy implications that each explanation carries with it. 6It will be argued that the best explanations are to be found within a broad socio-economic framework.Sentence 5 Which sentence outlines the main argument?1One major change that has occurred in the Western fam

35、ily is an increased incidence in divorce. 2This change is borne out clearly in census figures. 3For example thirty years ago in Australia only one marriage in ten ended in divorce; nowadays the figure is more than one in three (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996). 4An interesting issue is why thi

36、s change has occurred - a question that has been considered by a number of sociologists. 5In this essay, I will seek to critically examine a number of sociological explanations for the divorce phenomenon and also consider the social policy implications that each explanation carries with it. 6It will

37、 be argued that the best explanations are to be found within a broad socio-economic framework.Sentence 6 1. A major change that has occurred in the Western family is an increased incidence in divorce. Whereas in the past, divorce was a relatively rare occurrence, in recent times it has become quite

38、commonplace. This change is borne out clearly in census figures. For example thirty years ago in Australia, only one marriage in ten ended in divorce; nowadays the figure is more than one in three (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996: p.45). A consequence of this change has been a substantial incr

39、ease in the number of single parent families and the attendant problems随之而来的问题that this brings (Kilmartin, 1997).2. An important issue for sociologists, and indeed for all of society, is why these changes in marital patterns have occurred. In this essay I will seek to critically examine a number of

40、sociological explanations for the divorce phenomenon and also consider the social policy implications that each explanation carries with it. It will be argued that the best explanations are to be found within a broad socio-economic framework. 3. One type of explanation for rising divorce has focused

41、 on changes in laws relating to marriage. For example, Bilton, Bonnett and Jones (1987) argue that increased rates of divorce do not necessarily indicate that families are now more unstable. It is possible, they claim, that there has always been a degree of marital instability. They suggest that cha

42、nges in the law have been significant, because they have provided unhappily married couples with access to a legal solution to pre-existent marital problems (p.301). Bilton et al. therefore believe that changes in divorce rates can be best explained in terms of changes in the legal system. The probl

43、em with this type of explanation however, is that it does not consider why these laws have changed in the first place. It could be argued that reforms to family law, as well as the increased rate of divorce that has accompanied them, are the product of more fundamental changes in society. 4. Another

44、 type of explanation is one that focuses precisely on these broad societal changes. For example, Nicky Hart (cited in Haralambos, 1995) argues that increases in divorce and marital breakdown are the result of economic changes that have affected the family. One example of these changes is the raised

45、material aspirations of families, which Hart suggests has put pressure on both spouses to become wage earners. Women as a result have been forced to become both homemakers主妇主妇, ,操持家务者and economic providers. According to Hart, the contradiction of these two roles has lead to conflict and this is the

46、main cause of marital breakdown. It would appear that Harts explanation cannot account for all cases of divorce - for example, marital breakdown is liable to occur in families where only the husband is working. Nevertheless, her approach, which is to relate changes in family relations to broader soc

47、ial forces, would seem to be more probing 深入探索的深入探索的than one that looks only at legislative change. 5. The two explanations described above have very different implications for social policy, especially in relation to how the problem of increasing marital instability might be dealt with. Bilton et a

48、l. (1995) offer a legal explanation and hence would see the solutions also being determined in this domain. If rises in divorce are thought to be the consequence of liberal divorce laws, the obvious way to stem阻止阻止this rise is to make them less obtainable. This approach, one imagines, would lead to

49、a reduction in divorce statistics; however, it cannot really be held up as a genuine solution to the problems of marital stress and breakdown in society. Indeed it would seem to be a solution directed more at symptoms than addressing fundamental causes. Furthermore, the experience of social workers,

50、 working in the area of family welfare suggests that restricting a couples access to divorce would in some cases serve only to exacerbate existing marital problems (Johnson, 1981). In those cases where violence is involved, the consequences could be tragic. Apart from all this, returning to more res

51、trictive divorce laws seems to be a solution little favored by Australians. (Harrison, 1990). 6. Hart (cited in Haralambos, 1995), writing from a Marxist-feminist position, traces marital conflict to changes in the capitalist economic system and their resultant effect on the roles of men and women.

52、It is difficult to know however, how such an analysis might be translated into practical social policies. This is because the Hart program would appear to require in the first place a radical restructuring of the economic system. Whilst this may be desirable for some, it is not achievable in the pre

53、sent political climate. Hart is right however, to suggest that much marital conflict can be linked in some way to the economic circumstances of families. This is borne out in many statistical surveys which show consistently that rates of divorce are higher among socially disadvantaged families (McDo

54、nald, 1993). This situation suggests then that social policies need to be geared to providing support and security for these types of families. It is little cause for optimism however, that in recent years governments of all persuasions所有党派的政府have shown an increasing reluctance to fund social welfar

55、e programs of this kind. 7. It is difficult to offer a comprehensive explanation for the growing trend of marital breakdown; and it is even more difficult to find solutions that might ameliorate改改善；减轻善；减轻the problems created by it. Clearly though, as I have argued in this essay, the most useful answ

56、ers are to be found not within a narrow legal framework, but within a broader socio-economic one. 8. Finally, it is worth pointing out that, whilst we may appear to be living in a time of increased family instability, research suggests that historically, instability may have been the norm rather tha

57、n the exception. As Bell and Zajdow (1997) point out, in the past, single parent and step families were more common than is assumed - although the disruptive influence破坏性的影响then was not divorce, but the premature death of one or both parents. This situation suggests that in studying the modern famil

58、y, one needs to employ a historical perspective, including the possibility of looking to the past in searching for ways of dealing with problems in the present. 9. ReferencesAustralian Bureau of Statistics (1996). Divorces, Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Printing Service.Bell, R. and G.

59、Zajdow (1997) Family and household. In R. Jureidini, S. Kenny and M. Poole (eds). Sociology: Australian Connections. St Leonards. NSW: Allen and UnwinBilton, T., K. Bonnett and P. Jones (1987). Introductory Sociology, 2nd edition. London: MacMillan.Haralambos, M. (1995). Sociology: Themes and Perspe

60、ctives, 3rd edition. London: Bell and Hyman.Harrison, M. (1995). Grounds for divorce. Family Matters. No 42 pp 34-35.Johnson, V. (1981). The Last Resort: A Womens Refuge. Ringwood: Penguin.Kilmartin, C. (1997). Children divorce and one-parent families. Family Matters. No. 48. ( Available On-line )Mc